A Shelled Heart
by Hiei's Blood Rose
Summary: “Here.” He said. “To remember me by.” He placed the shell into her hand and closed her fingers around it. “Goodbye.” She whispered to the wind. She opened her hand to look at the shell he had given her. It was the shape of a heart. “A shelled heart.”
1. Default Chapter

Ok. This first chapter, it's really a default chapter, as you all should know because that's what it was labeled. Only the default chapter will have dates, so that you understand it. And, sorry, but i can't tell you the pairings because it would give too much out about the story.

(Disclaimer: I don't own anyone in this chapter except Mikara, Scarlet, and the orphanage members. They are my made up characters. Thank-you! )

September 13

A young woman barely twenty years of age sat in a garden. Unbeknownst to her, there were three shadows lurking behind the rose bushes, planning on an ambush.

"My Lord, we have the woman." Lucius Malfoy levitated the unconscious woman over to his Lord.

"Good. **_Impervious_**!" The Dark Lord cast his controlling spell on the young woman. "Now I will bed with this woman and I shall have my way into that school, in no time at all." His shrill laugh echoed throughout the room and his servants joined him in his satisfaction.

September 14

The baby was born within the same day she was conceived. The Dark Lord cast a speed spell and fast-forwarded through the pregnancy. The baby was born with honey-brown hair and bright green eyes.

"This… _baby,_ will not desist burping up bubble bombs; Wormtail, make it stop!" Bellatrix Lestrange commanded him, gesturing to the baby girl in her cradle, with such malice; the Dark Lord might have even cringed. The baby's bubbles were dangerous, if they tried to pop them once she blew them then they would explode. Bellatrix stormed off probably to torture more innocent people.

Unknown to them, they wouldn't have to deal with the baby too much longer.

_Some months later (about 3)_

Now, the baby cried as Bellatrix ran through alleyways trying to escape the aurors. The Dark Lord was gone; Wormtail was nowhere to be found; Severus was at that blasted school, Hogwarts. Her sister, Narcissa, and that husband of hers, Lucius Malfoy, were nowhere to be found as well. All the other Death Eaters had been captured. She was the only one that could save the baby. The Dark Lord had put a curse on all of them, so that they would have to protect the baby whether they wanted to or not; he made it instinct for them to want to protect it. Or they would die a slow and excruciating death.

Bellatrix tripped; she then cast a spell. "**_Wingardium Leviosa_**!" She proclaimed, and the baby levitated across the alley, and behind a bush. "**_Quietus_**!" She cast this spell at the baby and it's loud crying was hushed to small whimpers, this last spell would only last a few minutes.

She got up to run.

"**_Expelliarmus_**!" This disarming spell was cast on Bellatrix; her wand flew across the alley and smashed into the wall, breaking in half.

"**_Incarcerous_**!" A second voice bellowed, and ropes were instantly bound around Bellatrixs' body, enclosing her in a tight knot.

The three aurors that had bound Bellatrix used a spell to levitate and move her. They then heard giggling in the bushes, and cautiously approached the sound. With their wands at the ready, they peered behind the bushes and saw a baby wrapped in a black robe. One of them cast a communication spell and talked to someone through their wand. Within moments a fourth person appeared out of thin air with an old candle in hand.

He noticed the three aurors staring at the candle. "Portkey." He said. "What is this you said about a baby, Mad Eye?" He spoke to one of the aurors.

"Just as I said, Dumbledore." The on called Mad Eye, said. "There's a baby here behind a bush. Bellatrix Lestrange had it."

"Hm. It seems now that Voldemort is gone; everyone has been celebrating. But there is also tragedy; two babies in one night, odd." Dumbledore spoke, more to himself than to the three aurors who were levitating Bellatrix Lestrange to the transport that would take her to jail. He picked up the baby girl who was now sound asleep. "Soon we will meet again."

A young girl of ten years old was running along the beach. Her hair was black as a raven and her eyes were as blue as the ocean. The orphanage she lived at was across the street, so she was aloud to come here as often as she wished to. The sand in between her toes felt warm and soothing to the touch. Behind her sitting on a beach chair, as always, was her friend Sevi. She has known him for a long time and he comes and visits her a few times a week, usually in the afternoon.

He watched her intently as she looked for shells that might have washed up on the shore. He'd been told by Dumbledore to keep watch over this girl, stopping by a few times a week. He had actually grown rather fond of the girl.

It was sunset, and she knew it was time to go back home, to the orphanage. She slipped her flip-flops on, waved good-bye to Sevi, and skipped across the gravel street up and through the orphanage doors. It was now dinnertime; she went into the cafeteria. Her roommates were already in there usual seats, leaving a space open for her to sit at.

"Did you hear?" One of her roommates said to her as she sat down. "There's gonna be a boy visiting tomorrow."

"So? Scarlet, why are you so excited, there are boys here." She questioned her.

"But the boys here are gross, Mika. All they like to do is drop water balloons on our heads and shoot us with silly string; they're so immature." Scarlet said, rather matter-of-factly. I just rolled my eyes at her. She's always been like this: obsessed with boys. She wants to have a boyfriend even though she's only eleven years old.

"Mika. You are so juvenile. Why can't you be normal like everyone else?" she spat at me. She can act harsh sometimes; but I know she doesn't mean too.

"I am normal." I said, though there was a hint of sadness and regret in my voice. I've been reading a lot lately, the library here has tons and tons of books on every subject you can think of. I like to read the fantasy books mostly, and fiction. My favorite book is called **_'Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp'_**. It was written by Andrew Lang. I love how he has nothing but he gains so much in the end. All the magic and all the love and all the wonders; its really amazing. It lifts my spirits when things aren't going so well for me.

"Mika, come on. It's time to go to bed." Scarlet called to me and I stood up to go to my bedroom.

I reached my room and looked into my mirror. My eyes looked like they were a different color again. Last night they looked as if they were blue, and now they seem green. "Am I losing my mind?" I called to the wind. Outside my window I heard an owl hoot. "Owls aren't supposed to be in these parts. Weird; then again, weird things have started happening lately.

Mikara climbed into bed and snuggled up tight. She fell asleep moments before a shadow hovered over her bedroom window. "Soon we will meet again."

Ok. Everyone. Review time. The more reviews I get the more pumped I'll be to finish the next chapter. Okay? Cool! Please Review then. And, I welcome Flames; they help me to improve. And if the chapter is too short, please tell me and I'll make it lots longer! Ja! Thanks everyone!


	2. The Heart of a Shell

Ok people. This is technically the first chapter because I wanted to have a default chapter, now I do. So thanks for the reviews so far. (Disclaimer: I don't own anyone in this chapter but Mikara and the orphanage people. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

Mikara awoke in her cotton flannel pajamas. Scarlet was a few feet over on her own bed, snoring like there was no tomorrow. Mikara smiled at her, and walked over to the dresser to find something to wear for the day. Sevi wouldn't be coming today so she could go down to the beach and run around in the water. Sevi wouldn't let her play in the water; he thought it was too dangerous. That somehow she would get lost in the current or something; like that would ever happen.

Mikara grabbed out her swimming suit and a blue dress to wear over it. She dressed in them both and left the orphanage. The beach always smelled heavenly in the morning. The air would be filled with the smell of Forget-Me-Not flowers and the scent of the ocean's breeze.

She slipped off her dress and ran into the oncoming waves, which flowed towards her, welcomingly. The water felt cool and refreshing. Mikara floated on top of the water using her back, flailing her arms to keep afloat. She stared up to the sky, the sun was rising and you could still see a few stars where the moon was slowly descending.

Mikara played in the water until it was time for breakfast. She clambered out of the water, dressed, and walked her way back to the orphanage.

The cafeteria was full. It seemed everyone was awake to eat, which was a little odd since hardly anyone would wake up this early to eat. She waked over to where her friends were sitting; the same place they were all sitting in last night. Mikara sat down next to Scarlet and asked her why everyone was down here eating rather then sleeping in.

"Mikara. Do you have memory loss? I told you last night that a boy was coming to visit. All the girls are up because they want to meet him, and all the boys are up because the want to 'see what's so great about him'." She mimicked the boys and looked at Mikara like she was going crazy, or that she had three arms or something.

"Right." She replied, trying to sound like she was all excited about it. "When is he supposed to be here?"

"Soon." Was all she said; Scarlet wouldn't take her eyes off the cafeteria door the entire time she ate.

Once we were finished eating our bacon, eggs and toast, we went out into the hall. Scarlet pressed her ear up against the Headmistress's office door to find out if the boy was here yet. Mikara snuck away from the group while they eavesdropped, with complete concentration, and went back over to the beach.

She stripped down to her bathing suit, again, and floated in the water, on her back. She swam around for a while in bliss. The water made her feel like anything could happen. That magic was everywhere.

After a few hours of being in the water Mikara suddenly felt her foot caught in something as she swam. She pulled on her leg for it to come loose, but the seaweed was only getting wrapped tighter around her foot. It was pulling her deeper into the water.

"Ahhhhh!" She screamed, pulling harder on her leg, now, though, the seaweed was leaving marks around her ankle. "Help! I'm stuck! Help!" She screamed as loud as she could. The seaweed pulled her underwater and her breath was floating to the surface as little air bubbles. She opened her eyes under the water and saw something moving toward her. That was the last thing she saw before she let unconsciousness take hold of her.

She woke up, feeling something warm on her mouth. The warmth went away, and she started to cough up water. She sat up and clutched at her throat. Looking around her, she saw a boy sitting next to her. "Who are you?" She choked out.

"Draco. Draco Malfoy." She looked into his eyes. His eyes were a magnificent gray. She looked away and stood up.

"Thanks for saving me." Mikara said. She leaned towards him and kissed him on the cheek as a thank-you and turned to go back into the water.

"Wait! You're not going back into the water, are you?" He ran after her once he got over the shock of her kissing him, and once his blush went away. "You would have died if I hadn't happened upon you." He followed her into the water. "Come out, now!" He told her.

"No. I wanna swim." Mikara stubbornly stated and lied on her back to float around once again. Draco didn't look like he wanted to back down.

"You shouldn't swim in here alone." He tried to persuade her to get out of the water. "Your gonna drown."

"No I won't. I'm not alone. You're in here with me. So if I almost drown, you'll save me again." She said it as if it were painfully obvious, with a slight smirk crossing her features.

He floated there in the water with an annoyed look on his face. She had him; he couldn't just leave so she would drown. He had no choice but to stay. "Fine." He lied next to her in the water, in his clothes, and floated on his back, as she was doing.

After floating around for a while. They decided to have a shell-collecting contest. They would both collect as many shells as they could until sundown. Whoever gathered the most shells got to keep one of the losers' shells.

Mikara started off searching near a small cave, that she plays in sometimes; she usually found shells in that area. There were three shells sitting around one of the rocks that lead out to the sea. She picked them up and placed them in her pocket.

Draco searched around in the shallows of the water. He'd read somewhere that that was where shells would most likely be. Ah-ha! There were six all in one spot; this was going to be easier than he'd recently thought.

By the time the sun had started to set Mikara had taken all of the shells she had gathered and placed them in a small hole in the sand. She began to count them.

Draco laid his seashells out on the ground and counted how many he had collected, frequently glancing up at Mikara as she counted her shells.

"Ok. How many do you have?" He asked her. "I've got seventeen."

"Aw, poop! I've only got thirteen shells." Draco noticed she said that and a pout formed on her face, causing her bottom lip to pop out. "That means you get to pick one of my shells to keep."

"No. That's ok. You can keep yours and I'll keep mine." He sat down to watch the sun set over the horizon.

Mikara sat down next to Draco and laid her head on his shoulder. "Fun. It was fun today." She said simply. He nodded his head in agreement. "Will I see you tomorrow?"

He turned to look into her eyes then shifted them to look at the ground. "No. I was only visiting for today, at the orphanage up there." He pointed to the orphanage that sat across the street, behind them.

"Oh." He was the boy who was visiting today. She didn't want him to know that she lived at the orphanage since Scarlet had said that he was rich. It would be embarrassing. "So, I'll never see you again." She said it more as a fact rather than a question.

Rather than answering her question, Draco took a distinguished looking shell from his pile and handed it to her. "Here." He said. "To remember me by." He placed the shell into her hand and closed her fingers around it. He stood and went across the street; it looked as though his visit were over.

"Goodbye." She whispered to the wind. Mikara opened her hand to look at the shell he had given her. It was the shape of a heart. "A shelled heart." She murmured to herself, before she went back to the orphanage, with a smile on her face.

Please review everyone and I hope you liked this chapter. Flames welcomed!


	3. The Letter

My third chapter; ya! (Disclaimer: I only own Mikara and the orphanage peeps. The address and name of the orphanage are a part of my imagination as well. Got it? Good.) I really hope that everyone likes this chapter and the story thus far. I've had this story on my mind for a while and decided to put it on paper, in a manner of speaking. Remember, I welcome and hope for Flames, because they help me understand my reader's needs. What they're looking for in a story and a way for me to put that into words, basically. Anyway, review! And criticize me all you want, I wish to improve my writing, so everybody- throw your opinions at me!

_**Almost a year later**_

It was now August 30, and from recently finishing dinner, Mikara was now sprawled out on her bed reading 'Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp' for about the hundredth time. She was completely enthralled by it, that she didn't hear the knock at her door.

The person at the door came into the room with a stern look on her pointed face. "Mikara Kaze no Hana. Why didn't you answer the door when I knocked?" She looked flushed and had her 'it's very important' face on.

"I did not here you knocking, Headmistress. I was consumed in my reading." Mikara looked directly into her elders' eyes. "What is it you wanted of me?"

"Severus is here to see you. He awaits your presence in my office." She said.

Sevi had already come by four times this week. He never came by any more than that. She frowned. "Yes, thank-you." Mikara walked out of her sleeping quarters and turned to go down the stairs. It only took her moments to reach the office, as she had run the entire way there.

Sevi was sitting in the headmistresses' chair when she walked into the room, and closed the door behind her. "Sevi, what are you doing here? You've already come a lot this week." She looked into his intense eyes.

"I've come bearing news." He handed her the letter that he had been clutching on to. The envelope was thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment, and the address was written in emerald-green ink. It was addressed to Mikara, it said:

**Miss M. Kaze no Hana**

**The first bedroom on the second floor**

**2 Venus Lane**

**Aphrodite Orphanage**

On the back of the gaudy envelope there was a wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger and a snake surrounding a large letter _H_. She pulled out the letter; it read:

** HOGWARTS SCHOOL**

_of _**WITCHCRAFT **_and_** WIZARDRY**

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore 

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,

Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)

_Dear Miss Kaze no Hana,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted_

_at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please_

_find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

_Term begins on September 1._

_Yours Sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall _

_Deputy Headmistress_

She finished reading the letter and looked up into his eyes again. Mikara's expression was that of surprise; complete and utter surprise. "What does this mean, Sevi?" Her surprised look became a puzzled one.

"It means." He folded his long fingers together. "It means that you are a witch. And I am to take you to acquire your supplies." He looked directly into her unwavering eyes. "We will leave in the morning."

"I'm a witch." She said. "And I'm going to a witch school." She took it all in as she said it. Weird things had been happening lately, my hair and eyes changing colors, for example. "It says that the term begins on September 1st; isn't that the day after tomorrow?" She thought back to what the letter had said.

"Yes. Which is why we are leaving in the morning. I expect you'll be ready when I have you summoned at eight am." Sevi stood up to leave. He rounded the desk, that sat in the center of the room, opened the door and left.

Mikara put her letter back in the envelope and walked, slowly, back up to her room. A witch. She was a witch. That meant, that she could turn people into frogs if she wanted too. "This witch thing might not be so bad." She mumbled, and walked through the doorway of her room. She looked in her bedside mirror and noticed that her hair was a light brown; it almost looked blond. She saw that her eyes had become a golden color with specks of silver. She wondered if that was magic. It happened all the time. Everyone had grown accustomed to her changes like that; they would sometimes call her a chameleon.

Mikara sat in a chair in front of her mirror and decided to finish her book before she left in the morning; she couldn't take it with her because it was a library book from the orphanage library.

Minutes later, Scarlet had come back to the room, from where she was probably flirting with the boys after she'd finished her dinner. "Mikara." Scarlets' face had gone sad once she looked at Mikara. "I, uh, heard from the Headmistress that you're leaving in the morning, to go to some fancy school." She looked a little mad at that. "Why do you get to go to a school far away? Don't you like it here?"

"Yes, Scarlet. I love it here. But I have to go to this school." I said. I knew I couldn't tell her the honest truth. "I'll see you again though. And, I'll miss you." Mikara and Scarlet hugged for a few minutes.

"I'll miss you too." Scarlet said as they parted. She went to her bed and laid down in it falling asleep as a tear slid down her cheek.

Mikara went back to reading her book to try and keep her mind off missing everyone and mostly the beach. She finished her book within a half hour and decided she'd better get to bed if she was gonna get up early.

She climbed into her soft bed after she'd changed into a nightgown. "I'll pack in the morning." She rolled over to face the window and fell fast asleep.


	4. Toadthings, Redheads, & Kittens?

Ok chapter 3. Well technically it's chapter four since my first one was a default chapter. What is a default chapter anyway? Ah… never mind. Anyway, I hope everyone likes this chapter; it took me longer to do it because I had to refer to the Harry Potter books a lot. You'll probably see why once you get to those parts. So, thanks for acknowledging my presence and stories! Review!

* * *

Mikara and Sevi walked through the doorway and into a pub called the 'Leaky Cauldron.' It was dingy and dark inside; the walls had been painted a deep purple, ages ago. The paint was peeling along the ceiling and you could see the chipped plaster underneath. The floor was covered in, worn out, wool carpet which was stained from all the beverages that had spilled on it. There was an oddly colored stain that was the shape of Abraham Lincolns' head.

She followed Sevi as he headed for a door in the back of the small pub. The door led to a dead end. All that was there was a brick wall about ten feet tall. Sevi walked straight up to it, tapped on it in some sort of pattern, and pushed on one of the bricks. The wall, all of a sudden, opened up to reveal a street that branched off into other streets; they were filled with shops and people were rushing from place to place looking for things called, 'Dragons Liver', 'Racing Brooms', and something called 'Floo Powder'.

Sevi walked down the long street and turned in front of a huge, snowy white, building. It was much larger than the other small buildings. Mikara noticed that there was something, which very much resembled a four-foot toad, standing outside the big entrance. Sevi walked up and into the front doors; Mikara followed closely behind him, wanting to grab his hand for comfort. She reached his side and slipped her hand in his. He looked at her with a sharp intake of breath and almost made her release his hand; but the frightened look on her face made him allow her small hand to tightly clench onto his slim one.

They reached a second set of doors which had an inscription carved into it. It read:

Enter, stranger, but take heed

_Of what awaits the sin of greed,_

_For those who take, but do not earn,_

_Must pay most dearly in their turn._

_So if you seek beneath our floors_

_A treasure that was never yours,_

_Thief, you have been warned, beware_

_Of finding more than treasure there._

She and Sevi walked through those doors; bowed to as they passed, by two toad-things. The next room they entered consisted of more toad-things, and they were sitting behind long counters on stools. They were scribbling down things, and looking at gems and weighing things too.

Sevi walked up to an unoccupied toad-thing. "We've come to take money out of Miss Mikara Kaze no Hana's safe." He took a golden key out of his left pocket, with his free hand, and handed it to the toad-thing.

He took the key a little sharply, and examined it for a moment. "Right. Ragnarl!" He called out. Another toad-thing rushed over to them. The toad-thing handed Ragnarl the golden key, and they followed it through one of the hundreds of doors that led out of the main room.

Behind the door they had gone through, the walls and the ground were made of stone. The passageway was narrow and it had torches leading down through the tunnel. A small cart hurtled up the railway tracks that lead down the steep tunnel. The three of them climbed into the cart and it suddenly flew down the passageway. It seemed the cart knew where it was going all on it's own because it turned the corners so sharp; besides, the toad-thing was napping.

After about ten minutes of near-death turns and fierce winds piercing their faces the cart finally stopped in front of a small door in the passage wall. Ragnarl unlocked the door and shoved it open. There were gold coins, silver ones and bronze colored ones too. Where had it all come from? She'd never had money. So how could all of this be hers?

She watched as Sevi walked into the vault and pulled a large moneybag out of his pocket. He scooped a lot of gold coins into it. Then grabbed some of the silver and bronze ones as well. He walked back out and handed Mikara the bag. She held it as he climbed back into the cart and looked at her expectantly. She climbed into the cart after Sevi and the toad-thing got in. They set off with sharp turns again, almost causing her to lose her grip of the bag of coins. They sailed along- sailed? Yeah right, they got tossed around and it caused Mikara to almost get whiplash.

They finally stopped up at the entrance and she and Sevi got out. Mikara felt a little light-headed, but Sevi seemed fine- like he'd been doing this all his life.

They left the bank and Mikara followed Sevi to a shop that seemed to sell clothes. Well, maybe not clothes, it seemed the shop- 'Madam Malkins Robes for All Occasions'- sold exactly what the title said it sold; it was a shop for robes.

Sevi walked up to the front door and paused. "I've got some business to attend to. So I'll be back soon. Just go inside and show her this." He handed her a list of supplies for school; it read:

Uniform

_**First-year students will require: **_

_Three sets of plain work robes (black) _

_One plain pointed (black) hat for day wear_

_One pair of protected gloves (dragon hide or similar) _

_One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)_

_Please note that all pupils' should carry nametags_

**_Course Books_**

_**All students should have a copy of each of the following:**_

_The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) _by Miranda Goshawk

A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot 

_Magical Theory _by Adalbert Waffling

_A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration _by Emeric Switch

_One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_ by Phyllida Spore

_Magical Drafts and Potions _by Arsenius Jigger

_Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them _by Newt Scamander

_The Dark Forces: A guide to Self-Protection _by Quentin Trimble

**Other Equipment**

**1 Wand**

**1 Cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)**

**1 set glass or crystal phials**

**1 telescope **

**1 set brass scales**

Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad 

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS

ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS

* * *

Mikara watched as Sevi walked away, leaving her on her own. She took a deep breath and opened the door to Madam Malkins robe shop. She stepped inside and smelled the fabric. 'Can you even smell fabric?' you ask? Well, she did. 

A woman, who looked rather short and was dressed in all burgundy, came up to Mikara and asked, "Hogwarts?" Mikara nodded and Madam Malkin led her over to a stool and helped her stand on it. She held out her supply list for the woman, but she just smiled and said she didn't need to look at it; that she knew exactly what to do by heart after working there for over ten years.

Mikara stood on the stool feeling like a little awkward. She'd never been fitted for cloth- (oops!) robes, before. Heck! She'd never been fitted for anything before.

While she was being fitted two boys and a man, Mikara assumed was there father, walked in. The two boys looked identical, she figured they must be twins. They looked a year or two older than her and they both had flaming red hair, freckles and were very tall. They seemed to be arguing about something. "…It was grass, not booger." The twin on the left said.

"No. It was booger!" the twin on the right argued back.

"Grass!"

"Booger!"

"Grass!"

"Booger!"

"Enough!" They're father yelled. "Stop arguing so we can pick up Percy's new robes." He walked up to the front desk and rang the little bell, which sat up front, for service.

Madam Malkin put a hold on her fitting of Mikara and walked to the front desk to greet her customer. The two boys had spotted Mikara and walked over to her. "You a firstie?" The twin on the left asked her, as she hopped of the stool.

"What?" She had no idea what he was talking about.

"Hogwarts." The twin on the right answered. "Is this gonna be your first year?" He explained.

"Oh." They looked so similar; it would seem impossible to tell them apart. "Yeah."

"Yeah? Well, I'm Fred Weasley." Said the twin on the right.

"George Weasley; at your service." The twin on the left said, bumping his brother out from in front of Mikara.

They both stuck out there hands for Mikara to shake. She shook each of there hands. "It's very nice to meet you." She let go of George's hand. They were both smiling suspiciously.

"Fresh meat." George whispered to Fred.

"Yeah." Fred whispered back.

"What?" Mikara looked at them with an eyebrow raised, and a questioning stare.

"Err… nothing." George hurriedly said. "Miss…?"

"Mikara Kaze no Hana." She looked back and forth between the two.

"So, your Japanese?" Fred asked her.

"No. I was named after the- um, the founder of the orphanage I live- _lived_ at." She felt a little embarrassed telling them such personal information about herself.

"You're an orphan?" George asked. "Uh, I mean. What happened?"

"I don't know. All I know is that I was found on the orphanage steps when I was about three months old." She shifted on her feet uncomfortable with the topic they were recently discussing. Luckily for her, Madam Malkin took that moment to come back, and the boys' father was calling for them to go.

"Ehh; just a second dad- sorry. We gotta go though, so we'll see you at school?" Fred started walking backwards toward his father. Mikara nodded.

"Yeah. See ya, Mikara!" George called and followed his brother and father out the front door.

Mikara finished her robe fitting and left Madam Malkins shop with a bag of robes. She didn't know what to do, since Sevi hadn't come back from his thing he was supposed to be doing, yet.

She saw a sign for 'Magical Menagerie'. She walked through the front doors and up to the front desk where a woman sat reading the newspaper. The front-page title was: 'Cauldron explosions!'

The woman saw Mikara walk up to the counter. "Can I help you with something, dear?" She wore brightly colored orange robes and a purple hat sat atop her head.

"Um, yeah." She answered and noticed all the animals around her in cages. There were rats dancing in a cage on a counter-top. There were at least fifty different creatures in the shop; most of which were locked up in cages.

Mikara noticed a cage of kittens in the corner of the shop. There was a little orange one fighting with a brown one that had little spots of white on it's back and tummy. There was also a gray one in the corner of the cage sleeping soundly. It had little black spots all over it, reminding me of pepper.

The woman at the counter noticed her staring at the kittens so she looked over to the cage as well. "Oh, no. Not again!" She cried and began looking under the counter-top and throughout the shop. She called out the name 'Ruby' while looking. "Excuse me. But what are you looking for?"

The woman had stopped peering under tables long enough to call out to Mikara. "One of the kittens has gotten loose. She's always doing this; it's pretty much become a daily thing. I swear when find her I'm going to lock her up in a cage that she won't be able to teleport out of!" the woman rambled on for a while as she searched for Ruby the kitten.

Mikara stood where she was. "Cats can teleport?" she asked the woman once she came back clutching a little black kitten. Now she knew why it's name was 'Ruby'. The little black kitten had the reddest eyes she had ever seen; they weren't an evil kind of red either, they were a lively and mischievous red: Ruby.

"Not all of them, dear. This one is a half-breed. Half of her is part of a telepathy cat breed, cats normally have sixth sense about things and since she is half of a telepathy breed her sixth sense of things is increased." The woman explained as she sat the kitten on the counter-top atop of her discarded newspaper. "The other half is that of the teleporting breed, no one has wanted to adopt her as a pet because she could disappear at any moment and she's always hiding from me." The woman sounded a little irritated.

"I'll take her!" Mikara said before she could stop herself. The cat seemed all right, just a little playful and it seemed all she wanted attention.

The woman raised an eyebrow. "If your sure…" she sounded glad to be getting rid of the cat though.

The woman took some coins from Mikara as payment. Mikara left, with Ruby in her little cage, and some food.

Mikara stepped out the door and saw Sevi standing over by 'Madam Malkins' looking around frantically.

She walked over to him and tapped on his shoulder. "Hello, Sevi." She said as he turned around. "I went and bought a pet since the list said I could get one; I hope it's all right that I didn't wait for you to come get me." She looked a little worried at the fact that his forehead had worry-sweat on it and his eyes seemed openly concerned.

Ruby hissed at Sevi. "It's fine. Just don't do it again." He said, glaring at Ruby. He turned around and headed for a shop that said, 'Ollivanders'; a wand shop. Mikara and Sevi walked inside the door.

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'**fluffy the adventure squirrel':** I don't want to give too much out about the secrets within the story. But, Mikara isn't related to the Lestranges, if that's what you were implying. Who she is related to is a secret, well who her mother is, anyway. We've already concluded that Voldemort is her father. She doesn't have any memory of what happened or of who her parents are. There are little hints that say she's a Metamorphmagi; She doesn't know that she is one though. Not for a while anyway. There are a few other talents she has as well, that will be revealed in good time.

When she arrived at the orphanage they named her Mikara Kaze no Hana, after the founder of the orphanage. Which she told Fred and George in this chapter.

I figured she would have a nickname for Snape since she'd known him for so long, ever since she was little and he'd been assigned to watch over her by Dumbledore. I hadn't mentioned the fact that it was Snape who was watching over her. I figured it would add a little mystery to the beginning of the story; and I wanted to see who would figure out that it was Snape. So I hope that all questions have been answered, if not, then please ask me. Thanks for all the reviews. And remember, I welcome flames.


	5. Wands, Nightmares, and train buddies!

Hello, everyone and thanks for the reviews. This chapter should be long. I don't like to make my chapters too long, because then you sit there reading it for a long time and I know I don't like to do that. It doesn't matter what the length of the chapter is as long as it's good. Like someone said to me, 'It's not quantity, it's quality.' Thank-you all! And I hope you enjoy!

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_Creepy; _was the first thought that crossed through Mikara's mind the moment she and Sevi stepped into Ollivanders. The whole place was covered in dust, and there were boxes everywhere. The boxes kind of looked like shoe boxes, but they were too small- you would only have been able to fit one shoe in the box.

A small voice rang out throughout the small room. "Hm…" A little old man walked out from behind a few stacked boxes. He took one look at Mikara and started looking through a pile of boxes near the front desk. A tape measure popped out of a drawer and started measuring Mikara.

She watched the tape measure with curiosity, then turned back to watch Mr. Ollivander as he opened up a box. "Yes… suiting." He said as he took something out of the box. "Stop." He said, and all of a sudden the tape measure stopped it's measuring and jumped back into the drawer.

Mikara realized that what he was taking out of the box was a wand. "We'll try Oak and Unicorn hair, ten inches." He handed her the wand and told her to give it a wave. She felt a little weird waving a wand around. What was supposed to happen? But before she could give it a proper wave Mr. Ollivander snatched it from her grasp. "No, no, no; that won't do." He mumbled walking back to his stacks of boxes. He rubbed his chin as he searched.

Finally he came back to the front desk with a very old looking box in his hand. "Hm…"He glanced up at Mikara and back at the box. "Worth a try, I suppose." He opened the box and pulled out another wand. "Holly and Mermaid scale, ten and a half inches." He handed her the wand.

Mikara felt sudden warmth fill her body, and a warm breeze surrounded her. "Yes." Mr. Ollivander said. "The only one I have in stock actually and it's the last one. Taking mermaid scales has been banned, so this is the last wand left that has mermaid scale in it." He eyed it warily. "They prove to be tricky to handle, best of luck."

Mikara didn't know what to say to that so she took out the moneybag and paid him the seven galleons, then she and Sevi left.

They went to get all of her books next, the rest of her supplies and then bought a huge trunk to store it all in. When they finished Sevi led her back towards the Leaky Cauldron.

They walked inside and Mikara peered curiously at the customers. Some of them looked normal, but there ware also customers with dark hoods; one person even had two heads and the heads were arguing with one another.

She followed Sevi up to the front desk where a bald man was cleaning out a glass with an old rag. "Name's Tom. How can I help yeh?" he glanced at the two of them.

"One room for the night for her." Sevi said tilting his head at Mikara.

"You're not staying with me?" Her face became worried, and a little scared at having to stay here alone. She didn't know anyone.

"No. I still have business to attend to. I'll be back in the morning to take you to the train station." He said as he laid money on the counter for Tom to take: payment for the room. He, then, turned and left through the front door.

"Ok." Mikara said to no one.

She glanced at Tom as he led her to the room she would be staying in. "Here yeh go. Room number, 6." He unlocked the door and Mikara took in the rooms' contents.

There was a nice looking bed and some furniture- a couch, an armchair, a dresser and a mirror. There was also a crackling fire, roaring in the fireplace; it all looked quite comfortable.

"If you'll be needing anything, please, don't hesitate to ask." Tom bowed and left, closing the door on his way out after placing her luggage in the room behind her.

Mikara sat on her bed, watching the sun go down over the horizon. She heard a meowing sound, and turned to look at the cage Ruby would currently be residing in- she wasn't in it though. Mikara felt something furry rub up against her leg; she jumped before realizing it was Ruby. She picked up her little kitten and cuddled her in her arms.

Mikara lied back on the bed and fell asleep with little Ruby licking her hand.

* * *

_A man, hidden in a black robe chuckled. "I will be immortal once we achieve the stone." He chuckled maliciously. A chill fell upon Mikara as she listened to the voice cackle._

"_Master, how will we attain the stone?" Another voice questioned the first one, warily. The second voice seemed to be coming from the same spot as the first voice was. _

_"Be patient." The first voice spat. " I have a plan…" he chortled._

* * *

Mikara suddenly felt a searing pain throughout her body, which forced her into consciousness.

She woke up, sweat dripping from her brow; she hugged Ruby as the little cat hissed at nothing in particular.

Mikara noticed it was still dark outside; she lied back down and instantly fell back asleep. Her dreams this time were of magical black kittens with red eyes, flying around on little broomsticks while chasing heart-shaped shells through the sky.

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Mikara woke in the morning to the knocking on her door. "It's morning." Tom's voice rang through the sturdy door. "I've got a cup o' tea for yeh. Get dressed and come down stairs for some breakfast too." He left, and Mikara could hear his footsteps head down the hall and flop down the stairs.

She clamored out of bed, feeling groggy, and dressed in a black skirt and a pink shirt that said, "When in doubt, blow up a mountain!" She'd always loved that shirt; it was so completely vague that it always made her smile. She'd packed some clothes before she and Sevi'd left yesterday morning, in a duffle bag she'd been carrying around.

She hurriedly fed Ruby some of the food she'd bought for her yesterday, and then she jumped down the stairs; completely famished. There were probably ten to fifteen tables set up. Once she gave the place a quick once-over she noticed that most of the guests were the same ones she'd seen in there yesterday.

Tom: the bartender, walked over to her with a huge smile on his face. "I hope yeh've had a good nights worth o' sleep." He seemed to be cleaning yet another glass mug. "I've saved yeh a seat; and I'll have yer food out in no time at all." He led her to a small, one-person, table. It seemed like it hadn't been used very often, as it was covered in a thick layer of dust.

Mikara used her pink sleeve to wipe the dust away, then sat down in the little wooden chair. She felt like Goldilocks when she snuck into the three bears house and tried out each of their chairs. The wooden chair she was sitting in was hard, like the papa bears' chair; she wished she had a chair like the mama bears': nice and squishy.

Within a few minutes, Tom came back with a plate full of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, toast, and a plate full of pancakes. Mikara gapped at all the food; how was she supposed to eat all that? Best get started.

Once Mikara finished her last bite of food, she felt like she was going to pop! She sat back in her chair and drank the last bit of her pumpkin juice Tom had brought her once she'd started eating.

Tom came back over to her with someone following behind him. "Had yer fill, eh?" A big ole' grin ambushed his features as he picked up the plates and the empty mug.

The person behind Tom stepped out. Mikara leaped up from her chair and wrapped her arms around the man that stood in front of her. "Sevi!" He immediately tensed under her warm hug so she let go of him knowing how he hated any show of emotions in public.

"It's time to go." He said. She noticed her trunk sitting behind Sevi on the hard floor and Ruby and her cage sat on top.

Mikara immediately went over and plucked up Ruby's cage, with a pouting kitten inside; she giggled at Ruby's childishness and turned back to face Sevi. "Ok."

They left 'the Leaky Cauldron' minutes later and headed for 'King's Cross' station.

Mikara read her ticket over and over again. "Sevi, how am I supposed to find platform nine and three-quarters? There's no such thing, is there?" She looked at Sevi as he still had his mask of stoicism on.

"I will show you where it is." Was all he said as they rounded the corner and stood in front of two signs; one read: _Platform 9. _And the other read: _Platform 10._ There was no platform nine and three-quarters. She opened her mouth to complain, but Sevi pointed to a brick wall between the two platforms. "There."

A brick wall: another brick wall entrance? Mikara pushed the cart containing her trunk of school supplies and, a still pouting, Ruby. "How do I get through?" She questioned Sevi who had turned around to leave.

"Run through and get on the train on the other side." He said over his shoulder as he walked off, away from the train station.

There were people crowded everywhere and Mikara still had no idea how to get through the wall. 'Run through it.' He'd said. Did he mean, 'Run through the wall?' or, 'Run through the secret passage way through the wall?'

Mikara stood there for about five minutes before she noticed a family preparing to run through the wall. They were all red heads and she recognized two of them. Fred and George, from Madam Malkins.

She walked over to them. "How do you get through the wall?" She asked politely, once they'd recognized her.

"Mikara!" The twin on the left said shaking her hand. Remember? It's impossible to tell them apart.

"Miss Kaze no Hana." The twin on the right said, shaking her other hand.

"How to get through the platform?" The twin on the left said as if registering her question. "Ah, yes. Just watch me!" He said racing off towards the platform.

"Fred, you next." A woman, Mikara assumed was their mother, said to the twin who was already headed for the brick wall.

"I'm not Fred, I'm George." He said to her. "Honestly, woman, you call yourself our mother? Can't you _tell_ I'm George?"

"Sorry, George, dear." Their mother said to him.

"Only joking, I am Fred." Fred said as he ran at the brick wall and disappeared into it.

George winked at Mikara and ran off at the wall too, disappearing into it like Fred had.

Mikara watched a boy with black, messy, hair run through the wall looking scared. Then a tall boy with red hair ran through as well. The woman and a little girl, with red hair too, ran through the wall last. Mikara plucked up her courage and ran towards the wall like the Fred and George had. She closed her eyes just before she would have hit the wall and opened them when there was no crash.

Before her was a train and a sign that read: _Platform nine and three-quarters. _This was it; she'd gotten through the wall in one piece. She checked over her trunk and Ruby to see if they'd made it in one piece as well; they had.

Mikara glanced around and saw people boarding a train. She headed over to it and loaded her trunk on and pulled it into an empty compartment. She went back to find Ruby and lug her onto the train as well.

When Mikara walked back into the compartment she'd claimed, she found another person occupying it as well. It was a girl; she had brown bushy hair and rather large front teeth.

"Hello, my names Hermione Granger." The girl said. She was sitting on one of the two compartment benches. Mikara sat on the bench across from Hermione.

"My name's Mikara Kaze no Hana." Mikara said shyly as she opened the cage Ruby was in. "And this is Ruby." She said, pulling Ruby out of her enclosed cage.

The girls brown eyes went wide at the site of Ruby. "Wow. That's a half-breed. What breeds is she?" The girl looked really amazed as her eyes darted across every part of Ruby.

"She's half telepathic and half teleporting. The woman at the shop was glad to get rid of her, as she kept teleporting around her shop." Mikara and the girl broke into giggles and finally stopped laughing when the train's whistle blew, signaling that they were ready to leave the station and begin their journey.

Off the train went as the two girls talked about girl things, with Hermione holding Ruby, who kept teleporting back into Mikara's arms.

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Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and who will review. So, review! And i welcome flames! If you have any questions please ask me; whether you ask me in a review or if you send me an e-mail. My email address is on my homepage, so please check it out! Thanks again, to everyone!


	6. Arriving at Hogwarts

Hello people who like my story! I'm so glad you've read this far of my story! I'm trying to update regularly and not get writers block. It's hard because I'm writing three other stories for 'fiction press' at the moment, and I've only put one up on the site so far. So updating this story is becoming hard work; but, just so you know, I will not give up! Yah! Thanks for all of the reviews I have received! And I hope you like this chappy!

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About five minutes into the train ride, a boy with a rather round face and black hair opened the compartment door looking grief stricken. "My name's Neville. Have you seen my toad? His name is Trevor." He seemed really upset, so Mikara and Hermione decided to help him in his search for Trevor the toad.

Mikara left her compartment and turned to search down the left side of the train as Hermione and Neville searched down the right side of the train. She looked in a few compartments but everyone said that they hadn't seen a toad. She finally reached the last compartment and found two familiar faces and one unfamiliar one.

"Mikara. What a pleasant surprise!" George said as he jumped up from his lying down position across one of the benches. He pulled her into a brief hug then lied back down on his bench.

Fred stood up from the bench across from George's and wrapped one arm around her shoulders. "Your hair looks a little darker than it was earlier… ah, well, must be the lighting." He went and sat back down in his previous seat next to the boy Mikara didn't know. "This here's Lee Jordan." He pointed to the boy sitting beside him.

The boy, Lee Jordan, was holding a small box. "Nice to meet you, Lee." Mikara said shyly as she stared at the box in his lap.

"See, man. I told you!" Fred said, punching Lee in the shoulder lightly. To which a light blush flickered across Lee's face as he punched Fred beck, considerably harder. Mikara's eyebrow rose as she still looked at the box.

George must have seen Mikara staring at the box. "Show her what you've got in their Lee."

Lee opened his box slightly and a small hairy leg crept its way out, making Mikara's eyes bulged out noticeably.

Fred laughed at Mikara's expression as Lee opened the box all the way to reveal a rather hairy tarantula. George started petting the spider, but Lee shoved the lid back onto the box while rolling his eyes. "You don't pet a tarantula, George. They're vicious and will bite you."

"Then… why do you have it as a pet?" He inquired, raising his eyebrows.

"Because tarantula's are the coolest!" was all he could come up with, apparently.

After a brief silence Mikara spoke up as to the reason she was here in the first place. "Have any of you seen a toad, that goes by the name of Trevor, hopping around?"

"A toad… nope!" Fred yawned, while shoving his brother off the bench and plopping himself down on it to take a nice nap.

"Hey- I haven't seen any toads hopping about." George said turning towards Mikara, all the while poking his brother hard in the side and then sat in Fred's previous seat.

"No toads around here." Lee said, pouring some dead flies out of a small container and into the tarantula's den.

"I have to go then, bye." Mikara turned and left the compartment. She walked back down to her own compartment.

Hermione was back at the compartment with Neville; it seemed they'd finished searching and had successfully found Trevor. Both of them were dressed in their black robes.

She heard them talking about someone named Harry Potter. Supposedly he's famous; it's not like she would know, having known nothing about magic until the day before last.

Mikara stared out the window, at the mountains that the train would pass by. So she was a witch, off to a school of magic, to learn magic. She wished Sevi were here with her, at least then she would know someone. Yeah, she kind of knew Fred and George; Hermione too, but it just wasn't the same.

After a while, a woman pushing a cart came to their compartment and asked if the wanted anything to eat. Hermione and Neville both bought a few things and Mikara bought something called a chocolate frog, and a pumpkin pasty. They ate their food in silence.

About five minutes after they'd all finished there food; Hermione and Neville left the compartment so Mikara could change into her robe, as they would be arriving within the next ten minutes.

A loud voice boomed, throughout the train. "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately." For the rest of the train ride Mikara sat near the window petting Ruby's soft fur.

The train finally stopped and Mikara heard a thundering voice call out, "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" as she and everyone else exited the train luggage-less. The largest man Mikara had ever seen called out once again, "C'mon, follow me – any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"

Mikara and the rest of the first years followed the large man. His face was covered in hair all you could see were his black eyes. Mikara kept close to Hermione as they stumbled down a steep, narrow path. The night didn't seem to have a moon, as it was almost completely pitch black outside. In all the stumbling, Mikara lost sight of Hermione and fell to the back of the line.

The large man's voice rung out in the night; "Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec. Jus' round this bend here." And he was right; a sight it was. Everyone, including Mikara, went, "Oooooh!"

Once they all turned around the bend, they saw a huge black lake sitting next to them. Mikara thought she saw something moving in the water. She looked up and saw a huge castle sitting atop a mountains' peak, on the other side of the lake.

The large, hairy, man spoke out over all the 'ooooh-ing'. "No more'n four to a boat!" He called pointing to a flotilla of small boats. Mikara climbed into one of the boats; three other girls followed her, none of them talked. They all were quietly fidgeting with their hands and wringing their fingers as they stared up at the beautiful castle.

"Heads down!" the large man hollered as the first of the boats reached the edge of the cliff that lead up to the castle. Everyone bent their heads as their boat sailed under a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face.

Their boats carried them down a dark tunnel, until they reached an underground passageway, where the lot of them scrambled out and on to pebbles and rocks.

Mikara heard the burly man talking about a toad and tried to peer over the heads in front of her.

"Trevor!" She heard a boy cry. It must have been Neville, the same boy she'd shared a compartment with on the train.

She didn't have time to think about any of that; the group had started moving up a passageway. Mikara hurried after them and followed the bright light that seemed to emanate from a lantern the large man was carrying. They walked for a minute or two before coming out and stepping on grass, all standing in the shadow of the great castle.

They were led up a flight of granite steps and all stopped at the huge, wooden, doors that stood before them. The large man spoke again and asked if everyone was here. No one said anything, so he assumed we all were. Then he asked Neville if he still had his toad. Getting a, 'yes', from him, the large man knocked on the wooden doors three times.

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Hey everyone! I'm sorry this chapter is shorter than what you probably expected, but I really wanted to end it at this part. The next chapter will be longer because it will have the whole sorting hat tribulation going on in it.

Draco will see her as she's being sorted, but of course he won't recognize her because her appearance changes frequently. Her appearance changes a lot more, than just her hair or eye color, when she goes through a traumatic experience. Like in the first chapter, her appearance changed when she was a baby; it was right before Dumbledore found her in the bushes.

Her appearance goes back to the way it originally was, sometimes. But she would be unrecognizable to someone who knew her before she was taken to the orphanage because she is much older and wouldn't look the same. I hope I've cleared up a little confusion. So… if you've got any questions, please call on me! And remember, I welcome flames! Thank-you! Please review everyone, I hardly have any reviews... :(

Oh! And Please check out the story: Frogs, Warts and Kisses by; Confuzzld-me -It's totally awesome. It's like the frog prince story, just totally better!!


	7. The Sorting

The large doors opened to reveal a witch dressed in green robes. Her expression was that of strictness. She was definitely not someone anyone should cross.

The large man spoke to her, "The firs' years, Professor McGonagall."

"Thank-you, Hagrid. I will take them from here." The look on her face, now, was unreadable; though, for some reason, Mikara felt that Professor McGonagall felt a little… skeptical, of Hagrid.

She pulled the doors open, wide and everyone followed her in. The entrance hall was huge and was lit by the light of torches perched on the walls. There was a wide staircase that circled up, in all of its brilliance.

Mikara took everything in as she and her fellow first years followed the solemn, Professor McGonagall. They stopped in front of another pair of handsome doors. Professor McGonagall turned to face them. "Welcome to Hogwarts. The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has it's own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

Mikara watched as Professor McGonagalls eyes scanned the inhabitants of the room. Her eyes lingered on a few people, but never on Mikara; she was glad at that.

"I shall return when we are ready for you." She looked at everyone again, quickly. "Please wait quietly."

She left the room and everyone started whispering to whomever the wished to converse with.

Mikara stood there not having anyone to talk with. Hermione was somewhere up front, and Mikara was stuck at the end of the line. She listened to what everyone else was saying. "…I heard you have to wrestle a troll from someone at the front of the line…" most of the people were saying things like, "…my sister told me it has something to do with a hat…" and "…my brother said you have moon the whole room. I don't know about you, but I don't want anyone to see my birth mark…" Eww!

Mikara stood listening as she saw something moving overhead. She looked up and screamed. Ghosts…? There were about twenty, or more, of them, all floating overhead. It seemed, they were arguing over some issue about someone named… Peeves.

"…Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance –" A fat ghost, with little hair atop his head, tried to reason.

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost– I say, what are you all doing here?" A ghost, who looked like he belonged in one of Shakespeare's plays, wearing tights and the whole getup, seemed to finally notice the shocked and nervous stares of the first years.

No one said anything; they were all completely frightened. Finally, the Fat Friar spoke up with a smile on his transparent face. "New students! About to be Sorted, I suppose?" The person next to Mikara nodded and so did a few others.

"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" He said. "My old house, you know."

"Move along now," said a pointed voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start."

Professor McGonagall had returned while all the first years had had there attention focused on the ghosts. The ghosts were now leaving, heading through the wall that lead to what was on the other side of the handsome doors.

Mikara gulped as she followed the other first years through the large doors. She was overcome with astonishment; there were candles floating overhead everywhere. Mikara noticed there were four large tables and a smaller one at the top of the room. The students, who were sitting at the four tables, were all staring at them as they came in. The small table, at the top, was where the teachers were sitting. The tables were covered with sparkling golden plates and goblets. Professor McGonagall lead the first years up in front of the teachers' table; the first years turned, in a line, and faced the students, with their backs to the teachers. The ghosts could be seen floating overhead, watching the first years intently. Also, overhead, was a black sky, dotted with stars.

Mikara's attention was drawn to Professor McGonagall, who was dragging a stool out to the middle of the floor, she, then, placed a hat on top of it. The hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty.

Mikara stared at the hat, along with everyone else in the Great Hall. Everything was quiet for a few seconds, then, the hat twitched. A rip near the rim opened wide like a mouth – and the hat began to sing:

"_Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,_

_But don't judge on what you see,_

_I'll eat myself if you can find_

_A smarter hat than me. _

_You can keep your bowlers black,_

_Your top hats sleek and tall,_

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

_And I can cap them all. _

_There's nothing hidden in your head_

_The Sorting Hat can't see,_

_So try me on and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave at heart,_

_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry_

_Set Gryffindors apart;_

_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

_And unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

_If you've a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning,_

_Will always find their kind;_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_

_You'll make your real friends,_

_Those cunning folk use any means_

_To achieve their ends._

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

_And don't get in a flap!_

_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

_For I'm a thinking cap!"_

The whole hall burst into applause and so did Mikara. The hat bowed to each of the four tables, than became still again.

Professor McGonagall stepped forward with a roll of parchment in her hands. "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted." She said. "Abbott, Hannah!"

A pretty girl, with blonde hair and rather rosy cheeks, stumbled out of the line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. After a moments pause–

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat shouted.

The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went and sat down at the Hufflepuff table. The Fat Friar waved to Hannah as she sat down.

"Bones, Susan!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!" and off went Susan to sit next to Hannah at the Hufflepuff table.

Mikara mentally checked off the people in her mind as they were chosen and placed in their house. Two Ravenclaw's; a Gryffindor, and a Slytherin. After more and more people were placed, they came down to the K's. Then:

"Kaze no Hana, Mikara!"

Mikara steadily walked towards the hat, which still stood on the small wooden stool. She picked it up, placed it on her head and sat down.

"Interesting. Very interesting." A small voice said into Mikara's ear. Her eyes darted around, staring at the black inside of the over-sized hat.

"Mystifying, seems to make more sense though." The hat matter-of-factly stated. "Hmm, talent, I see. Smart, too. Persistent, yes; you're ancestry… very interesting, I've just the place for you-"

"SLYTHERIN!" The boisterous hat shouted and Mikara tipped the hat off of her head and placed it back on the chair.

She didn't know much about the houses, but she was still happy to be included in one; being the only one to not have been picked to join a house would have been awful. Mikara walked over to the Slytherin table and sat beside a boy with brown hair who was talking to a boy with blonde hair to the right of him. Mikara sat and watched the rest of the first years get sorted. Only once did the hall burst into whispers, when a boy named Harry Potter, was, chosen, to be sorted. Mikara didn't know what everyone was whispering about him, but she heard people calling him, 'The-Boy-Who-Lived'. Lived from what?

The sorting finished and Professor McGonagall rolled up her parchment and took the hat away.

A man stood up. He wore half-moon glasses, had a long, crooked nose, and flowing silver hair, beard and mustache. He grinned broadly at the students with his arms opened wide.

"Welcome!" He said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!

"Thank-you!"

He sat back down and everyone clapped and cheered. Mikara just stared at the odd man, wondering if he wasn't a bit out of his mind.

The clapping died down and food magically appeared on the table. Mikara stared, dumbfounded, at the piles and piles of food sitting in front of her. Some of the food she didn't even recognize, but she hadn't eaten since the little snack on the train that seemed like it had been days ago. She took some of everything, except for a dish that looked and smelled like old gym socks. Everything tasted wonderfully. She ate until she could eat no more.


	8. Metamorphmagi

AN: Ok, everyone. I don't know the order of their classes and I wanted to do them according to the book, but I can't seem to sort them out; especially since they're classes differ depending on what day it is. So, I'm going to make it up. If that's not all right with you, then stop reading or get used to it. No offense intended. It's just the way it is. That's why this chapter took me so long to do, because I was trying to figure out how to do the classes. Sorry it took so long! Hope you'll forgive me and review. I hardly have any reviews and I was hoping I would get some more soon! Thanks a lot!!

* * *

The halls wound around as the group of Slytherin's traveled, lower, into the school; they came to the dungeons and found their way to the Slytherin entrance. "Chutzpah." A Slytherin up near the front of the group said, to a door. 

The door swung open to reveal the Slytherin common room. It was a long, low underground room with rough, stonewalls, and ceiling from which, round, greenish lamps were hanging on chains. A fire was crackling under an elaborately carved mantelpiece ahead of them.

"This is the Slytherin common room." The room had a cozy feel to it. "The girls dormitory is on the left and through the door." He pointed to the right of the common room, at a Green door. "The boys, is to the right." He pointed to a door, directly across from the girls, at the other side of the common room.

Everyone started looking around the room, getting a feel of the place. Mikara headed towards the girls dormitory and stepped through the door.

There were five four-poster beds, hung with jade, velvet curtains. Their trunks had already been brought up and were placed at the end of the beds. Mikara walked over to where her trunk was sitting, and sat on the bed. She was extremely tired, after the long day she'd had. She lied down and fell, instantly, to sleep.

* * *

Mikara awoke with a start to find two girls bustling around the dormitory, half robed. She climbed out of her bed and looked at the watch she had around her ankle. She always kept her watch tied around her ankle because it always annoyed her when it was around her wrist; this way it was easier. Breakfast was over in ten minutes! 

She jumped out of bed, dressed in her robe, grabbed her book out of her trunk and headed to the Great Hall.

She reached the Great Hall to find it half empty. She sat herself down at an area of the table where people were scarce and piled her plate with pancakes, bacon and eggs. She poured herself a glass of pumpkin juice and dug in to her food.

Mikara climbed out of her seat and headed back to her dormitory. She was a little nervous about starting her classes, and the fact that she hardly even knew anyone was a little unnerving.

She looked over the list of her classes, which she held in her clammy fingers. Transfiguration was first, everyday. Astrology was every Wednesday at midnight. Herbology was three times a week. History of Magic was everyday. Charms was everyday. Transfiguration was everyday. Defense Against the Dark Arts was everyday. Potions was everyday. Sometimes, though, they had a Double class.

She went to her Transfiguration class, her first class. The teacher was Professor McGonagall. Professor McGonagall turned herself into a tabby cat and back again. The class cheered, but some of the other Slytherin's just sneered and acted unimpressed. The rest of the class went smoothly and was over all-too-soon.

Mikara's next class was Herbology. She found her way outside and peered at the lake. It looked mysterious and wet. Well, of course it looked wet; it was made of water. The lake looked dark, yet inviting. Mikara wanted to jump in it and swim around for the rest of the day. But she restrained herself and walked onward to the green houses.

She entered the first greenhouse and sat beside another Slytherin. She didn't say anything to him; she didn't even look at him but she knew he was a guy because he was talking with the person on his other side. She sat quietly and waited for class to start.

The teacher came in and introduced her self as, Professor Sprout. She taught them about herbs and how to identify them. The boy was laughing about something with the person on his right. Mikara couldn't hear what they were laughing about so she just concentrated harder on what Professor Sprout was instructing. Class ended in, about, the same as the last ones: boring and educational.

Mikara was the first one out of the Greenhouse and headed back inside the school. She reached the door of her Potions class and paused as she heard talking inside. She took a deep breath, turned the handle on the door, and walked in.

The classroom was filled with kids talking about all sorts of things. Some talked about how the teacher for their class was pure evil and how he was out to get someone else's job, while others talked about how they hoped this was an easy class, and to that last remark someone would roll their eyes and say, 'If it were raining muggles outside, then maybe'.

There were shelves of jars with objects floating in them, along the wall. It was a little chilly in the dungeon room too.

Mikara saw that the seats went by two's, so she placed herself in one of the chairs in the middle of the classroom. She didn't want to be too close to the front of the room, or too far to the back. She sat there until the teacher walked into the classroom.

She stared at the blank parchment she had taken out of her bag, and then looked at the ink sitting on the corner of her desk. She looked up at her teacher; the quill she was gripping onto fell from her fingertips and plunked the floor. Everyone scrambled to a seat and didn't notice the fallen quill. Mikara sat, befuddled, and watched as her teacher walked up to the chalkboard and wrote something on it.

Sevi. The teacher was Sevi.

He started the class by taking roll call. He didn't even acknowledge Mikara when he said her name; she answered solemnly with: 'here'. But, when he said this one boys name –Harry Potter, I think it was– he paused.

"Ah, yes." He said softly, "Harry Potter. Our new… _celebrity_."

Mikara frowned at this. Since when had he been sardonic? He was usually a little… ill-tempered, but not satirical. She had to admit that, she didn't like seeing Sevi like this: him acting all snooty. Who was this man?

Class continued, with Sevi teasing Harry Potter. Harry obviously didn't know the answer to the questions he was being asked, but Sevi just kept persisting. It was like he was trying to embarrass him on purpose.

Mikara took notes through the rest of her potions class and hurried out once the class was over; not wanting to be the last one out and have to be alone with Sevi. He was not acting like himself, and Mikara didn't like it.

Bad luck was on her side at the moment. Someone bumped into her as she was heading out the door and she dropped her parchment. She saw a flash of sleek blonde hair before it disappeared behind the entry.

"How have your classes been so far?" Mikara turned and saw Sevi clearing up the papers on his desk, not looking up at her.

"Fine." Was all she said as she stood up, with parchment in hand, and walked out the door.

Losing her appetite, she went straight to her dormitory and collapsed onto her bed, with her spirits emptying into the gutter. How could Sevi act so mean and spiteful like that? It made her feel depressed, and she felt like she didn't even know who he was anymore. She sat on her bed, contemplating his unusual behavior, until she had to head out for her next class.

Mikara dozed a little and was almost late to her Defense Against the Dark Arts class. She jumped into the classroom just as the class began.

"T-take your se-seats puh-please." The professor said.

Everyone took a seat, and Mikara found one in the back. After a few minutes of their teacher, Professor Quirrell, speaking, Mikara could tell he stuttered a lot. From what, she had no idea, and had no intention to ask him. He must have had a very traumatic experience in the past.

Defense Against The Dark Arts ended with an essay due on Friday and Mikara headed off to her Charms class.

Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, was sitting on top of a pile of books as everyone filed into the classroom. She tried not to stare at the little teacher and took a seat near the back of the classroom, since all the other seats were taken.

Charms class was a little more interesting. They got to work with their wands and try to levitate a feather. Mikara barely caused her feather to move. Luckily, only one person's feather actually levitated into the air. Mikara couldn't see who it was because some of her classmates' heads were in the way. She didn't even know who half of her classmates were; there were so many of them.

The class ended with Professor Flitwick telling them all to practice with their feathers during the rest of the week, and by Friday they all should be able to levitate them. Mikara couldn't wait to practice more with her feather. She realized that she loved to use her wand. The magic would flow through her and she could feel it exit through the wand and into the object of choice.

* * *

By the end of the week, Mikara could levitate her feather expertly, and so could most of the rest of her class, all except these two boys called Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe. 

She was doing well enough in her classes and her favorite was Potions. Though Sevi had still been poking fun at that Harry Potter boy.

Mikara frowned at her parchment she was taking notes on. She'd been there almost a week and she still hadn't made any friends. She'd seen Hermione and Neville in a few of her classes, but otherwise she had missed them at meals and free time. Today was Friday and they didn't have any more classes until Monday. She did have a few essays and some magic to practice for Monday though.

Class was over and she packed up her things and began heading out of the Potions classroom. "Miss Kaze no Hana, stay back. I need to speak with you." That stopped her in her tracks.

She hadn't spoken to Sevi since the first day when he'd asked her how she'd been doing in her classes so far. What did he want? Was she in trouble? She didn't think so, but could she be sure?

She gulped before turning around and walking over to his desk. He was writing something on the board; it was probably for his next lesson. She stood there, writing, for a good thirty seconds or so before he stopped writing and turned around, looking at her pointedly. "What do the words on the board say?" He asked her, gesturing to his previous actions.

She gave him a confused look before turning towards the board and reading aloud what it said. "Metamorphmagi- A person who can change their appearance at will." That sounded a little familiar to Mikara: A person being able to change their appearance… She read on. "Metamorphmagus- To change ones appearance at will." That was pretty much the same thing as the first one.

Before she could continue on, Sevi spoke. "Sound even remotely familiar?" He asked cryptically. He walked around his desk and stood in front of her. "You're hair is black today; it has been ever since you came to this school. And your eyes have been green for the same amount of time."

"But they haven't always been." Mikara was beginning to understand the point he was illustrating.

"Your eyes and your hair have changed their color on different occasions." He stated. "Most likely, they change depending on your emotional state."

"So, basically, I'm a Metamorphmagi. Which means that I can change my appearance at will. But my appearance has been changing of its own accord." She let it all sink in as she said it aloud.

That explained why she was referred to as a chameleon back at the orphanage. She'd grown so accustomed to the nickname; it just seemed normal for her.

"Correct. Headmaster Dumbledore has set up a date, for you to learn how to control your Metamorphing. Your lesson will be on every Saturday; at one p.m. sharp. You will stay there for one hour." He said it all emotionlessly, so Mikara just nodded her head and walked out the door.

She would have to start tomorrow then. She walked to her dormitory, as that was her last class that day. Feeling exhausted, she lay back on her bed to sleep, until it was time for dinner.

* * *

_A vacillating man occupied a small bedroom, warmly lit with a roaring fire. He undid the turban that sat atop his head; slowly unwinding it until the top of his head was completely bare. He placed the unwound turban on his bedside table and stared into his mirror. _

"_It won't be too long now." A malevolent voice spoke out from nowhere, it seemed. _

"_Yes Master. I will figure out the key to get past the traps that were set. I won't fail you." A scraggily voice spoke out. This voice came from the man who had the turban on his head. _

"_You'd better not. I won't stand for my servants failure anymore!" The first voice spoke harshly. "There will be no more second chances." His voice grew ruthless sounding. _

_The man winced at the sound of his Master's callous words. _

"_Yes Master." He said, instantly. "I will do whatever you ask of me." He vowed. _

"_Perfect." The Masters voice grew raspy and he coughed. _

_The man picked up a goblet filled with a silver liquid. He put his hand behind his head, with the goblet in it, and something on the back of his head began to consume the goblets contents. The consumption ended and the goblet was placed back onto the wooden table. _

_You could hear him licking his lips from the sweet taste of the silver liquid. "We will need to acquire more Unicorns blood soon, Quirrell." The voice cackled heartlessly. _

* * *

AN: The dream sequence was hard for me to do. I was going to go a different way with it but decided against it. I hope everyone is happy with it. 

Whoever figures out who I will have teaching Mikara how to will her appearance to change, I will dedicate my next chapter to them!! So put on your thinking caps everybody!!!

If there are any questions or remarks, REVIEW!! Yah! I love reading reviews; unfortunately, I haven't gotten very many. Oh, well, I guess. I will still continue to update. Again, remember, I welcome flames!!!

-Hiei's Blood Rose


	9. The Witch's Hat

Mikara awoke early, Saturday morning to find the rest of her roommates still asleep. She glanced at her watch and saw that it was only five-thirty in the morning. No wonder they were all still asleep, anyone would be at this ungodly hour.

Mikara climbed out of bed and dressed as quietly as she could. She left the dormitory, with some parchment and her ink and quill, and headed to the highest tower in the school. The walk took about fifteen minutes, but she finally reached the Owlery.

The Owlery was a circular room with glassless windows. The owls were all nestled comfortably on rafters. The straw covered floor crunched under her feet as she walked over to a small table and began writing her letter to Scarlet.

_Dear Scarlet,_

_I miss you so much. The school is ok; it's nice, but I would rather be back at the orphanage with you. Don't worry though; I like it well enough here. I hope you're doing well. The owl I am sending this letter to you with, will send you're reply back to me. They don't have mailmen here; they deliver their letters with owls. Funny, isn't it? I was so shocked when I was first told about it. Anyway, I just wanted to say hi and to tell you how much I wish you were here with me. _

_Your Best Friend,_

_Mikara _

She rolled up her letter and tied it to the leg of the closest barn owl. The owl blinked and hooted before flying out the window; disappearing into the sunrise. She sighed and began the descent back to her common room.

* * *

Mikara headed out of the Great Hall after she finished her lunch. She walked into the empty classroom where, Snape had told her this morning, her Metamorphmagi lessons will take place. 

She walked into the classroom and saw that her instructor hadn't arrived yet. She noticed mirrors were cascaded around the whole room. She walked around and glanced at the normal looking mirrors. Standing in front of one, she stared herself down.

Scrunching up her features, she pressed her self, intent on trying to change her eye color, like Sevi said she had done in the past. Nothing happened after two minutes of face scrunching.

She was about to give it another attempt, when a woman walked into the room. The woman had short light green hair and exuberant purple eyes. She was humming a little tune as she walked up to a desk and placed her wand on it.

She looked up and spoke with a bubbly voice. "Mikara Kaze no Hana, I presume?" An immense smile appeared on her heart-shaped face.

"Yeah, that's me." The woman walked over to her and stood in front of one of the mirrors beside Mikara.

"You can call me Tonks." She scrunched up her face as she stared at the mirror image of her self, intently.

Her sea green hair grew a few inches long and turned a fiery shade of red. Her eyes turned into the shade of green her hair was just moments before. Returning her expression back to normal, she turned towards Mikara and smiled giddily. "Try it."

Mikara started to say that she didn't know how, but she bit it back and tried again anyway. She scrunched up her face the same way Tonks just had. Focusing deeply on her features, she tried to make her hair turn pink; that would be a big change from its plain colors. Nothing happened, so she tried to focus on her eyes. She figured she'd try for pink colored eyes as well; nothing. She stopped scrunching and looked at Tonks. "I don't know how."

"You have to concentrate hard on what you're trying to change. When I was little, I couldn't get my features to change. I would sit ion front of my mirror for hours trying to make my hair and eyes a different color." She finished her reminiscing and faced Mikara. "That's the first step. Learning how to change your hair and eye color. Then you'll learn how to change yourself to a more advanced level. But I won't get into that now."

"Ok." Mikara turned towards the mirror again and concentrated hard on herself. She repeated the words, 'yellow eyes' over and over again in her head. She concentrated for so long; she couldn't even tell how long she concentrated for.

"We'll pick up from here next Saturday." Tonks said as she collected her wand and headed for the door.

Mikara looked at her watch; she'd been at her lesson for two hours. She walked out of the room and began heading for her common room. After a minute of walking, she changed her mind and decided to go outside and sit near the lake.

Stepping outside the large doors, she took in a deep breath of the air. It smelled like dew and past rain. It must have rained last night. She walked towards the lake and sat beside it, up against a tree. She felt extremely tired and fell asleep after a few minutes of blissful peace.

* * *

Mikara awoke to the sound of voices close by her. She glanced around the tree and saw flaming red hair. It reminded her of Fred and George. 

"Snape is truly evil." The redhead spoke up.

"He is no Ron. If he were **_truly evil_** as you so eloquently put it, then why would Dumbledore have hired him as a teacher in the first place?" She said, stating the obvious fact of the matter.

"Oh yeah? Then why does he always look like he hates Harry and seriously wants to cast the Avada Kedavra curse on him?" He argued back. "Hmm? Explain that to me."

"I can't, Ron. I don't know the answer to that. But you shouldn't assume things that you don't fully know the truth of. Find out the truth before you accuse him of anything." She pointed her index finger at him accusingly. "But don't go snooping around and acting all suspicious. We can't afford to lose anymore points from Gryffindor."

"Don't be a spoil sport Hermione." The red head stood up to go. "C'mon Harry, so I can beat you at wizards chess again."

"You two shouldn't be wasting your time playing pointless games. You **should** be done with your schoolwork by now; I am." Hermione bristled. "I'm not lending you my notes this time." She threatened.

"Whatever Hermione…" The redhead acted as though she would lend them her notes anyway.

The other boy, who stood up, Mikara recognized was the boy whom Sevi had been very unkind to. "See ya later." Harry followed the redhead as they headed back inside the castle to play chess. Mikara watched Hermione as she watched the two boys retreat into the school. Hermione then picked up a book she had and began reading it.

Mikara stood up and walked around the large tree trunk. "Hermione; how are you?" She said, plopping down to sit next to Hermione as she sat, reading a book on… Nicholas Flamel? Who's Nicholas Flamel?

"Oh, Mikara." She looked up from her book and a surprised smile crossed her features. "I haven't seen you for a while. I'm doing just fine; how are you?" She put her book down after placing a bookmark in it.

"I'm fine, too." She didn't want to burden Hermione with the loneliness she felt whenever she saw people talking happily. She didn't have any friends. Could she even call Hermione her friend? She didn't think so. They hadn't really interacted much.

"So, how do you like your classes?" Hermione inquired.

"They're great. I really like Potions and Charms. Mixing concoctions is a lot of fun and feeling the energy flow through me when I use my wand, is exhilarating." I pulled my robes' sleeves down to cover my hands.

"That's good." Hermione said. She stood up and grabbed her things. "Come on. I want to show you something."

"Ok." Mikara stood and followed Hermione as she rounded the school.

After a few minutes of walking, Mikara saw that they were heading towards a large bush. Hermione stopped in front of it.

"What-" Mikara started to ask but was interrupted by the sound of the wind whistling. Wait, that wasn't the wind, it was coming from behind the bush. Hermione took a few steps and disappeared behind it. Mikara reached out but stopped when she saw Hermione come out from behind the bush, she wasn't alone though.

A girl with ear-length brown hair and cerulean eyes stood next to her. She was nearly a foot taller than Hermione. The girl put out her hand expecting Mikara to shake it. Mikara stood there, looking from the girls' hand and back to her face over and over again. After a minute of this, the girl laughed and grabbed Mikara's hand.

"Nice to meet you." She said. "My name's Madeline, but everyone calls me either Maddy or Mad, because, well, I am a bit mad." The girl laughed et herself after letting go of Mikara's hand.

Mikara thought the girl did seem a little not right in the head. She was still laughing at her self, doubled over in laughter. Mikara looked up at Hermione and saw that she was smiling at the girl- erm, Maddy.

Once Maddy stopped laughing she stood all the way up and smiled cheerfully. "I'm glad to welcome you to, 'The Witch's Hat'." She moved to the side and motioned for Mikara to walk behind the bush.

Mikara moved behind the bush and was astonished to find a wooden door that stood about six feet high. She noticed that on the door, there was a large picture of a witch's hat. It stood about a foot and a half tall and was completely black, except for a small part on the hat where there were four pictures of animals. All Mikara could make out were a serpent and a lion.

The door opened and another girl stood there, waiting for Mikara to enter. She walked through the doorway. The room looked cozy and was rather large compared to how small it looked from the outside. The walls had been painted a soft yellow to make the sunless room seem vibrant. There were candles fluttering around overhead keeping the room alight. There were tables scattered all over and there were even cozy looking armchairs sitting around a fireplace that looked like it had been lit recently.

Mikara was lead through the room, introduced to –it seemed like– everyone. Finally she was left to do whatever she pleased. She had even been told that there was a door near the back of the room, where you could practice your magic. It had a spell cast on it a long time ago, so that no one would get in trouble for using magic outside of their classes.

Mikara walked up to a girl who was selling pumpkin juice, and bought one. She, then, headed to an empty table and began sipping her drink. Not a moment later, she felt someone sit down in the chair beside her. She turned to see who it was, and saw that it was none other than Hermione.

"Do you like it?" She seemed really excited about the place.

"Yeah. But why is it here?" Mikara didn't understand what this little place was doing here and how she had never heard anyone else talking about it.

"It's been here for ages. I found out about it a little bit after we got here from another Gryffindor. I'd noticed that I had never seen you here so I decided I'd bring you." She explained to Mikara. "This place is for witch's only; that's the first rule. The second rule is that there are no boys aloud. The third and final rule is that you cannot tell anyone about this place, unless it is a fellow female student. No one else must find out. I do have a feeling that a couple of the teachers know about it though. I haven't any idea how I know that, I just… can tell." She shrugged her shoulders as she finished.

"I wonder who started this place…?" Mikara thought aloud.

Hermione smirked. "I forgot to mention that. There is one teacher that we know knows. She comes here sometimes. She is the one who started this place." Hermione said, waving her arms around to emphasize what she was talking about.

"Who is it?" Mikara inquired, getting very curious as to which teacher it was.

Her eyes sparkled as she leaned in close, and whispered, _"Professor McGonagall!"_

* * *

I hope my readers are still out there. It has been a while since I put a chapter out. I hope the fact that this one is kinda long, will make up for it! I welcome flames! Please review! I have hardly any... 

-Hiei's Blood Rose


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